Reviews

EP Review: Guttural - "Lockjaw"

by The Metalverse

Updated July 21, 2025

EP Review: "Lockjaw" by Guttural | The Metalverse.net

Hailing from Chicago, Guttural is a new metal act that formed in 2024, recently releasing their debut EP Lockjaw in the beginning of July. Guttural is: Jason Garza (vocals), Bryan Borges (Guitar), Jake Lopez (Guitar), Dennis Candela (Drums).

Guttural performing live at a heavy metal concert | The Metalverse

"Lockjaw" Tracklist:

Hate. Breeds. Life.
Carve
Apple Fritter
Jack In The Box
Rift
That Sinking Feeling

Review

The first track Hate. Breeds. Life. starts quickly, showing its teeth with a raw mix and an onslaught of slamming riffs that seem to blend inspiration from death metal, hardcore, and thrash into one cohesive sound that seems to pay homage to classic metal in a nostalgia-inducing way. After a 3-minute build-up, Guttural bursts into a grooving breakdown filled with explosive drums, hard-hitting guitar, and screeching pinch harmonics.

Carve begins with a dark ambient acoustic bass intro before distorted guitar leads harmonize alongside it–using contrast between melodic and brutal elements to build energy. Guttural showcases a lighter side of their sound with clean singing and a focus on catchiness, delivering a sound that comes across as a surprise after the juxtaposition of the first track.

Apple Fritter starts with a distorted bass line and drum-build up before bursting into clean vocals and galloping tempos. Alternating between screaming and singing, Guttural creates a powerful dynamic that keeps things interesting throughout the runtime. Apple Fritter builds into a destructively heavy breakdown before ending with a final chorus.

Track 4, Jack In The Box starts with a phaser guitar soaring through the mix before panning old-school thrash guitars lead way into racing blast beats, and speedily delivered screams. A technical guitar solo slashes into the fray, before cataupaulting listeners into one of the heaviest breakdowns of the EP with down-tempo pacing and brutally low vocals.

At just 1 minute of runtime, Rift acts as an instrumental interlude as multiple guitars overlap, creating a complex soundscape that slowly transforms into screeching dissonance that leads into the next track.

The final song, That Sinking Feeling, wastes no time, launching directly into action with rapid guitar chugs, death metal growls, and slamming drum grooves. After an intense build-up, That Sinking Feeling transitions into a standalone bass riff before blasting into a brutally heavy breakdown with pitch-shifting guitar riffs, booming 808s, and ferocious vocals before abruptly ending.

Overall, we are impressed by Guttural's debut EP, and there is a lot of potential for the young metal act. While the mix is a little rough around the edges, Guttural showcases a lot of talent and a sound that many metal fans will enjoy. We look forward to hearing more from the band and what they will sound like as their production increases over time!

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